The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-03-16
Personal Duty Of Personal Effort.
BY WAYLAND HOLT, D. D.

At the close of a religious service,
not long.since, Christian man was
going about. asking this one and the
other, if he would accept the Lord Je-
sus as a personal Saviour. The ques-
tioning had been fruitful of result.
Several, touched by the personal ap-
peal, had then and there declared they
would end controversy and hesitancy
and submit themselves to Jesus as
their Saviour and their Lord. The
service had thus amounted to great
deal. All present were conscious OF
the power Of the Spirit, and there was
much rejoicing that to the Lords
kingdom new adherents had been won.
The hinge on which the service had
thus swung toward victory had been
plainly the simple and tender personal
appeal.
The meeting done, another Chris
tian man said to the one who had thus
one by one besought men; "Well, I
could do anything but that"
Now, the precise trouble with the
Lords Church is that there are such
multitudes of her members who are so
constantly saying they can do any
thing but approach men in the way Of
personal appeal, and who seem to i'm.
agine that because they feel such dis.
inclination for the duty, they may,
therefore, be excused from it.
Right here is a main reason for the
too slightly vanquishing power Of the
Church. Sermons, praises, prayers
the Church perhaps is ready enough
for these. The general appeal from
the pulpit, men will listen to this
But hand.to-hand work Christians toe
much shirk. The loving question,
from one man to another, will you &C.
cept Jesus Christ? waits too often baf.
fled upon Christian lips. And because
Christian man lends his presence to
religious service. prays, gives, sings,
makes perhaps, now and then, in some
public meeting kind of set speech ol
exhortation, he imagines his duty
done, or if not that, that he is excused
from further duty, and the strangerby
his side goes out with never person
al word said, never a question con-
cerning the true life asked. never q
welcome offered. And these churches
wonder why there are not more con-
versions, and think the fault is in the
preaching, singing, order of service
anywhere rather than precisely where
the fault is, in the disposition to do
anything but this thing, so strenuous
ly and constantly needed, the person
al approach of the Christian to the un-
christian.
How prone Christians are to substi-
tute something for this duty of person
al approach. One of the troubles with
the Week of Prayer, is that it has been
thrust into such place of substitution.
There has been little or none of this
personal duty done in church for a
long year. Sermons have been preach
ed, Sabbath school lessons taught,
prayer meetings held, the formal or
der Of services pushed resolutely on.
Nothing much, apparently, has come
of it all. Congregations have come,
congregations have gone. Then the
Week of Prayer arrives. The night
ly services are held. Men pray, and
then wait for something with listless
expectancy. Nothing seems to come.
And the Church contentedly settles
down into the conviction that the
Lord has no special blessing for her
that year. And the old routine goes
on and on.
Meanwhile, scarcely a member OF
that Church has approached soul un-
christian with the question, betoken-
ing personal interest, Will not you
now take for your own the Lord and
Saviour? All, me! I am sure the show
ers of grace are ready to fall, but there
has been so little personal seed-sowing
which such showers could stir and
fructify, why should they fall? This
II can do anything but that" feeling,
is the main blight and barrier.